Metroid Zero Mission (Game Boy Advance)
Developed and published by: Nintendo

Samus Aran… oh how I love thee. I’ve had a thing for you ever since I laid eyes onyour long, flowing green hair and purple jumpsuit using thefamous “JUSTIN BAILEY” password. Of course, I was justa silly kid back then. I didn’t fully understand or appreciate your charm, your simple elegance,that aura of mystery and intrigue surrounding you. It wasn’t until I played Metroid II for theGame Boy and Super Metroid for the SNES that I began to truly fall in love. Then came Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion, but still I couldn’t stop thinking about that first time we met.

When Nintendo announced a remake of the original Metroid on the GBA, I knew I would be unable to resist. Even though I criticize Nintendo for beinglazy and regurgitating their past successes far too often, I wanted nothing more thanto go back and relive those memories, knowing what I know now. I’m only telling you this becauseI want to be clear on one thing: I bought Metroid Zero Mission purely out of my love and dedication to you, nothing more.

The first Metroid game was way ahead of its time in terms of design and gameplay. It was so muchmore than a simple side-scroller. Here was a game where you had to explore a complex series of underground rooms, caverns and space stations all through your own ingenuity. The game was notcompletely linear as itinvolved a lot of backtracking, and it did not rely on mindless action as there were numerous puzzles to solve and hidden passages and items to uncover.There was even just enough of a storyline to keep things exciting.Of course, I will be the first to admit that Metroid was long overdue for an update. I mean,you can’t really expect anyone to sit down and play something nowadays using one of thosegod-awful password save systems. And the thought of drawing out your own map for a game by handis a painful one indeed. But it’s a classic that still deserves to be played even today, and Metroid Zero Mission makes it easy to do so.

Adding an automap feature and save points definitely makes this game a lot less intimidating andless cumbersome to play. It kind of leaves me with mixed feelings though because the gamecan also now be blown through in a matter of a few hours. Metroid Zero Mission isaccessible to a much wider audience than the original, but at the same time it loses someof the reward you get from exploring on your own. Fortunately, the navigation hints andinstructions don’t come directly from an annoying on-board computer so they aren’t asin-your-face as they were in Metroid Fusion.

The game has been updated in a number of other ways. Essentially it has been builton the Metroid Fusion engine, which means the 16-bit graphics and animation are on par technically withthat game and Super Metroid. The level design is different but familiar at the same time. Thebasic layout of the maps is the same, but the obstacles in the rooms are new and reworked totake advantage of some of the new abilities and gadgets that have been brought in from othermore recent Metroid games. Stuff like the power grip, hi-jump, speed boost, power bomband tow lines make this a whole new experience (although arguably not much different from MetroidFusion). There are new hidden areas (including some ChozoRuins that tie-in with the story from Metroid Prime) anda few new minibosses have been inserted before Kraid and Ridley to increase the challengeand variety. There are also a couple new 2d cinematic scenes added for dramatic purposes that look nice but are actually pretty pointless.

It all makes for a satisfying, albeit rather typical, Metroid game.Basically if you’ve played a couple other Metroid games, you already know the drill here. It’s very quick and easy to pick up Metroid Zero Mission, but hard to put it down — which is what makesit great and a suitable heir to the Metroid name. Sure, it would have beennice to get a whole new Metroid game instead of a remake, but Zero Mission does have enough unique elements to make it worth playing even if you already know the original like the back of your hand.From what I hear there is also a surprise in store after the Mother Brain battle(some sort of interesting new gameplay element) but I have yet to reach the very end of the game. I do know that you also unlock theoriginal game on your GBA when you complete Zero Mission, but you can already unlock that with Metroid Prime and Fusion anyways — talk about overusing the retro game bonuses!

I really must apologize though Samus. I get very defensive when I see Nintendo taking advantage of you. I know it’s not your fault. You’re just an interstellar bounty hunter doing your job… you’re not in it for the money. But I have to admit, they do your legacy justice, and I can’t blame them for wanting to get your story out to a wider audience. I just wish that we could spend more time together, you and I. I’m not just some silly kid anymore and I really think we have a lot in common. I anxiously await the next time we will meet, but in the meantime I just want you to know that you’re the only female interstellar bounty hunter I’ve ever had these kinds of feelings for. Please consider returning my calls. You’ll see, I’m really not a freak. I promise you won’t regret it. — Sean

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